Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lowered by Heritage Financial Services LLC

Heritage Financial Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $98.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.86 and a 200-day moving average of $108.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.